Week 12 Learning Journal Post

This post is a bit of a after-action review following our consulting exercise in BGIMGT566.

The experience was a huge hit with the class. It gave us the opportunity to experience how far we've come over the course of the quarter. It challenged us in a really fun way.

I was on the energy team. The experience of working together, even with brand new partners, was really strong and high level. Had we had the chance to meet for perhaps 2 hours more, I think we would have returned with a spot-on campaign idea. As it was, we ran out of time, mostly because we allowed ourselves to get stuck in solving the problem that was presented, and in doing that, got sidetracked. It was all good work, but I left feeling unresolved.

So the conversation continued, albeit, inside my head. It went a bit like this:

Insight: Social media is a communication tool, not a problem solving tool. It is good at broadcasting info via a wide network. Not so good at designing programs. I've noticed that conversations around energy often get bogged down in the complications, the details, and the frustration of seeing the huge gap between what is and what is possible. (And, yes, that is where the business opportunity lies, though I dare say, attempts to tap it, by and large, have not hit the zeitgeist quite yet). My goal is to become better at facilitating conversations that lead toward simple changes as opposed to ones that stymie us with complicated, seemingly irresolvable problems.

Our client came to us wanting to help energy auditors achieve a higher rate of converting home energy audits into homeowner action to reduce energy. We re-designed a process that would reduce or eliminate some of the barriers. It was a decent attempt at a business model for a couple hours effort, but to me, the social media component of our design felt more forced, than organic to the system.

With the benefit of morning-after hindsight, I did a mental do-over.

1. What is the underlying goal? Save energy (as opposed to selling home improvements).

2. Who has the power to do that? Our client came to us with a focus on energy auditors. Throughout our conversation, we bounced between auditors and home-owners as the audience. There are many ways the audit processes that we'd collectively experienced could be improved to lead to more "sales". But that is a design challenge more than a social media one. If energy auditors were a tightly knit group, perhaps active in a professional group or in a situation where several are active in a company where their role is similar and they can influence program design a social media campaign might be useful.One could imagine contests, incentives, shared among peers. My observation is that they are loosely affiliated, work in a wide variety of programs and employer relationships from utility to independent contractor to HVAC Sales. As such social media is not the best tool to reach them. So I switched my attention to homeowners. They have the ability to act or not act, and we can reach and connect them using social media.

3. What simple behavior change should we target? Our group got bogged down by the complexity of the larger issue. In doing that, we missed the chance to find something simple as the focus of a campaign.

Coming back to it, I decided to target light bulbs and shower heads. Lighting represents 11% of home energy use and is an easy and simple target. And like lighting, the aesthetics of lo-water shower heads has gotten pretty darned nice, and once installed, will lower hot water use for a lifetime. It is so easy. Upfront cost is minimal and long-term savings potential is great. Takes only minutes to implement. Why don't people just screw them in? That's a simple behavior change we can ask for.

Resulting campaign proposal: Just Screw It, a combination video/Rippl campaign using happy imagery, and played to the tune of Michael Jackson's song "Just Beat It".

Week 8 Learning Journal Post - Persuasion

The Shelton Group just released its 2011 EcoPulse survey. Based on the answers of 1,502 Americans, the survey found that the #1 driver of energy-efficiency investment continues to be to save money on utility bills (28%). It also found that in order to see a measurable improvement in their bills, on average, Americans need to take at least 4 energy saving steps, yet most people take only 2.3 steps - not enough to move the dial on their utility bill.

The survey also found that lower income Americans would rather spend more on their energy bill than invest in energy efficiency. Why? For the most part, it is because they can't afford to invest. Oddly enough, wealthier Americans are more sensitive to increases in their energy bills than those with less money.

When asked how much how much their monthly bill would have to go up to push them spend more money on energy efficient home improvements, those making higher incomes ($100,000 or more) gave an average answer of $113, compared to $120 for those earning lower incomes (less than $25,000). Those with graduate degrees had an even lower threshold -- $98, compared to $122 for those with only a high school degree or less.

Those are some pretty big increases. I live in an area where energy costs are low compared to other parts of the country. But using the figures above, the monthly cost for someone living in a home that performs comparably to my own would have to triple before financial motivation would kick in as a serious factor. This implies that the mechanisms that are currently in place to encourage energy efficiency, which largely consist of poorly advertised, fractured, and complex utility and tax rebate schemes along with an occasional bill insert-based outreach campaign, are poorly suited to create changes in behavior.

While money might be a key motivator, the study also looked at other forms of persuasion to learn more about which techniques are most effective. They found that social norming is a powerful tool to convince people to shift their energy consumption habits. In other words, energy use declines among those who are identified as using more energy than their neighbors, and messages that reinforce the idea that other people are saving energy encourage folks to do something so that they will fit in with the group.

This is consistent with findings from a number of projects and studies. It suggests that an important persuasive element is to incorporate social proof into broader energy efficiency outreach campaigns. Based on additional information, the benefits of social proof tend to wear out over time, so it is also important to include other persuasive elements as well. These might include revising existing rebate programs so they provide positive and time-relevant feedback loops, and rewards that are closely tied to monthly energy use.

With consideration of BJ Fogg's Motivation-Ability-Trigger model, I can see tons of opportunity for innovation in the energy efficiency space. I'd like to explore barriers and techniques to motivate change further in my Beat Blog.

Beating the Beat: Title & Keywords Post

I am late coming up with a Title and Keywords for my BGI Beat Blog and my personal brand. Instead of leaning into Fail Forward Fast, I find myself zipping around the hamster wheel. As in doing a lot of work, without moving forward.

My big tent topic is about energy efficiency. It allows room for the rest to develop. I am mentally building posts about my personal efforts to create a lighter footprint. At the same time I'm getting closer to a related goal of promoting and better understanding businesses and people that bring together all the good things about food and community and good energy. Writing is a great tool to help me gather my, as yet, scattered kernel of an idea together.

I admit that the title piece has me stuck (At least until I'm not). I have lists of personal attributes, plus related words and phrases. Or is it words and phrases with related attributes? Aack! Conscious. Evolving. Elegant. Resilient. Imagine. Next. Integrity. Compassion. Natural. Deep. Strategic. Passionate. Real. Vision. Meaningful.

(edited to add: "Here's Tamara. Now with new and improved Authenticity features. Get yours today"

Am I mixing up Brand and Beat? In any case, the Title has me stumped for the moment. I hereby set it aside for a bit so the rest can continue unfolding. And I welcome you, readers and fellow students, to share ideas. I'd love to capture something about the beauty and elegance of living consciously and in sync. Points for catchy and funny too.

On the bright side, the Branding assignment, while still at the baby steps stage, already inspired me on the journey toward right livelihood. Spent the morning revising the intro to my resume and it is already reading so much better.

Proposed Beat Blog Keywords: BGI566sx, BGI, energy, efficiency, home, sustainable, business, green, alternative, resilience, lighting, retrofit